Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Maldives says Supreme Court to rule on election petition soon

UNITED NATIONS — Maldives says its Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming days on a petition that has held up a second round of voting in its contentious presidential election.

Acting foreign minister, Mariyam Shakeela, told the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday that the integrity of the second round can't be maintained without ensuring the first round was fair.Shakeela said the election process can continue after the court's verdict, allowing a new president to be sworn in Nov. 11.The U.N. and Western nations had all praised the conduct of the first round.The front-runner in that vote accused the court of colluding with Maldives' former autocratic ruler to deny him victory.Maldives held its first multi-party election in 2008 but has faced political turmoil in the past year.